Eswatini: Emaswati Youth Rank Unemployment Top of the Priority List, Think Greater Efforts Are Needed

31 July 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma

Government gets failing marks on job creation and other youth concerns.

Key findings

  • Unemployment is the most important problem that Emaswati youth (aged 18-35 years) want their government to address, followed by education, incomes, and health.
  • Among youth, only small minorities say the government is performing "fairly well" or "very well" on creating jobs (5%), improving the living standards of the poor (9%), managing the economy (12%), and improving basic health services (29%).
  • Only about two in 10 young respondents approve of the job performance of their elected local government councillor (22%) and member of Parliament (22%).
  • Emaswati youth have more education than their elders. Nine in 10 young citizens (90%) have secondary or post-secondary schooling, compared to 83% in the 36-55 age group and 56% in the over-55 age group.
  • But they are also more likely to be unemployed: Half (50%) of young Emaswati say they are looking for a job, compared to 31% of middle-aged and 17% of older citizens.
  • About two-thirds (65%) of young Emaswati describe their personal living conditions as "fairly bad" or "very bad," while 19% say they are good.
  • Young Emaswati are less likely than their elders to engage in some political and civic activities, including voting and contacting leaders.

According to the Eswatini Integrated Labour Force Survey 2023, unemployment for youth aged 15-35 stands at a staggering 56%, compared to the national average of 35.4% (Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2023). In a country where more than 70% of people are under the age of 35 (Mlangeni, 2022), this figure paints a gloomy picture of youth job prospects and threatens Eswatini's opportunity to capitalise on a large share of its population's most productive years.

Employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation make up one of the nine key pillars of Eswatini's National Youth Policy, which is supported by a variety of projects and initiatives facilitated by the government and its development partners (Ministry of Sports, Culture & Youth Affairs, 2020; UNFPA Eswatini, 2020a, 2023). These include the Youth Empowerment Programme and the Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund, which seek to address youth joblessness through work placements, skills training, and access to finance (Ntshakala, 2024; Kwanele, 2022). The launch of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Youth Development and the resurrection of Tinkhundla youth associations provide opportunities to integrate youth issues into government programmes and to coordinate youth interventions (UNFPA, 2020b).

The 2023 Global Youth Development Index ranks Eswatini 155th out of 183 countries when it comes to promoting youth education, employment, health and well-being, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2024). It trails regional neighbours Mauritius (No. 69), Namibia (No. 126), South Africa (No. 141), Botswana (No. 142), and Zambia (No. 152) but outranks Malawi (No. 168), Zimbabwe (No. 169), Angola (No. 171), Lesotho (No. 173), and Mozambique (No. 177).

Ahead of International Youth Day (12 August), this dispatch provides an on-the-ground look at the situation of youth in Eswatini. Findings from the latest Afrobarometer survey, in late 2022, show that Emaswati youth (defined here as aged 18-35) have more education than their elders but are also more likely to be unemployed. In a list that includes education, health, infrastructure, and management of the economy, unemployment is by far the most important problem that young Emaswati want their government to address.

Youth are critical of the government's performance on job creation and other priorities, and few approve of the performance of their political leaders. But survey findings also suggest that young Emaswati could make greater use of political and civic avenues to make their voices and priorities heard.

Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa

Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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